5 players who underperformed in La Liga GW 8
The eighth gameweek of La Liga 2021-22 was filled with twists and turns. The most highly-anticipated matchup of the weekend lived up to the hype and saw Atletico Madrid beat FC Barcelona 2-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium. To make matters more painful, former Barcelona forward Luis Suarez scored Atletico's second goal.
Other title aspirants, Real Madrid and Sevilla, were also in action this weekend. Real Madrid were beaten 2-1 at Espanyol on Sunday while Sevilla suffered a 1-0 defeat at Granada. As made evident by the shocking results, the eighth matchday was far from predictable, and the players on our list had a role to play. Now, without further ado, let's check out the five biggest disappointments from gameweek eight in La Liga.
Special mentions: Marc-André ter Stegen (FC Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Nabik Fekir (Real Betis)
#5 Vinicius Jr - Real Madrid
The 2-1 defeat to Espanyol was more down to the defensive incompetence of Real Madrid rather than the attackers misfiring. Still, looking at how Vinicius Jr. started his La Liga campaign, it would not be unfair to call his performance subpar.
In his first six La Liga games this season, Vinicius Jr. scored five goals and provided two assists, emerging as Real Madrid’s second-best forward. Over the last two La Liga games, he has looked a lot more hesitant, a lot more conscious of his shooting abilities.
Yes, he combined well with Karim Benzema against Espanyol, but Real Madrid cannot afford to have a hesitant first-choice forward.
Vinicius was in the form of his life, why didn’t he start against Espanyol?
Following another blank at Espanyol, Vinicius has dropped down to third on the Pichichi list, currently sitting behind Real Sociedad’s Mikel Oyarzabal and fellow Real Madrid striker Benzema.
#4 Erik Lamela - Sevilla
After both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona returned home empty-handed, Sevilla had the opportunity to capitalize and climb to the top of La Liga. Having played one game less than the two teams, Sevilla could have matched the table-toppers Real Madrid’s tally of 17 points with a match in hand. Unfortunately, none of the Sevilla players turned up at Granada.
Eri Lamela, who scored three goals in his first two La Liga games, started the match on the right-wing, hoping to threaten Granada. Unfortunately for the visiting fans, he clocked the worst match yet for Sevilla.
La Liga refs are on some other shit today wtf did Lamela do to get carded… please https://t.co/Ubr54lbRUh
He was stagnant throughout the match and ended up losing possession thrice - the highest in the match. He even lost the most duels (11) and was ultimately subbed off just past the hour mark. The match at Granada marked Lamela’s fifth game without a goal in La Liga.